The Virginia Pork Council will hold its 48th annual Virginia Pork Industry Conference Jan. 29 at the Workforce Development Center on the campus of Paul D. Camp Community College in Franklin.

Conference registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and at 9:30 a.m., Dr. Tim Safranski, from the University of Missouri, will speak on the effects of heat stress on sow productivity.

Dr. Mark Estienne of the Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Suffolk, will follow with a talk focused on the effects of nursery floor space allowance on future growth, reproduction and longevity in replacement gilts.

The morning’s educational session will conclude with a presentation by Dr. Chris Rademacher from Iowa State University on porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and swine delta corona virus.

During lunch, Casey Shaw of Murphy-Brown will provide an overview of global commodity prices. In the afternoon, participants can attend one of three concurrent sessions: production meeting for Murphy-Brown, LLC employees, pork quality assurance training and certification, or transport quality assurance training and certification.

There is no charge to attend, but interested persons should pre-register by Jan. 22 by contacting Dr. Mark Estienne at 657-6450, ext. 408 or at mestienn@vt.edu.